Machine for assembling retainers



May 15, 1945.

H. L. POTTER MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING RETAINERS Original Filed Aug. 9,1941

2 She'ets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

May 15, 194 5. oT 2,376,081

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING RETAINERS Original Filed Aug. 9, 1941 INYENTOYRfi'owell fihpaii e ATTORNEYS- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'wardly. v It is anotherPatented May 15, 1945 UNITED- 2,376,081 I MACHINE FOR ASVSEMBLI'NGRETAINBR'S PATENT]orric E Howell L. Potter, New Britain, Conn., assignorto The Falnir Bearing Company, New Britain, Conn, acorporation ofConnecticut original application August 9, 1941, SeriaI NoQ 406,119.-Divided and this application August 31, 1943, SerialNo. 500,610

4 Claims. -(o1. 29-201) My invention relates to an apparatus for assembling a ball retainer with balls, articularly in a doublerow ballbearing, or a bearing where there isnot free access to opposite-sides ofthe retainer. This application is a division of'my application. SerialNo; 406,119, filedAugust 9,

1941, now- Patent No. 2,360,741, Sept. 28, 1943.

Ball retainers, such as cast bronze retainers,

v have heretofore commonly been assembled in back to back relationshipwith a double row ball bearing, that is to say, with deformable ballembracing fingers at the'outsides of the bearings,

in which position such fingers may be readily I deformed into ballembracing position} With such retainers it is necessary to space therows of balls far enough apart to provide sufficient space for thebackto back retainers. Furthermore,

consider-able lubricant space is thus consumed and except when the ballrows arewidely' spaced, the retainer section is likely to be reduced toan undesirably low limit. Furthermore, with deep being broken awaytoillustrate interior features;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal-sectional view taken substantially in the planeof theline 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryhorizontal sectionalview through the bearing shownin Fig. 1, the

section being taken just above the lower retainer and parts being inposition before deformation I of the retainer fingers;

angular contact raceways, the ring section of'the retainers, whenassembled back to back, must be substantially reduced in a radialdirection. In those cast bronze retainers which'have been assembled with.double row bearings with the deformable fingers extending inwardly(that is, oppositeto the back to back relationship), the I retainer ringsection at the outer sides of the bearings 'has been substantiallyreduced or cut away. i v

It is a general objectofnmy invention; therefore, to provide an improvedapparatus for as- Fig. 4 is a generally vertical sectional View throughparts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. '3, but illustrating parts inpositionafter deformation of some of the bendable retainer fingers;

Fig. 6 is'a generallyvvertical sectional view through parts shown inFig. 5;:

Fig. '7 is a-view similar to Fig. but'illustrating the parts in positionafterdeforming the remaining bendable fingers; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6- but illustrates the parts inpositions assumed in-Figi'l.

The double row bearing" illustrated includes an innerring 5 and an outerring- 6,' each of which is providedwith two 'spacedlraceways for 0receiving two separate rowsof balls]1--I,q8- -8,

sembling ball retainers in a double row balllbearing, wherein thedeformable fingers face inp object'to provide an improved apparatus forassembling ball retainers in a double, row ball bearing, wherein theretainer 'fingers project inwardly, all without the necessity ofsubstantially weakening the retainer section at any point.

'Another object is to provide an improved ap-" paratus forassemblingretainers whichsubstan- 'tially fill the space between the face of theinner ring and the outer. race; and which have deformable fingersprojecting inwardly or toward each other.

Other objects and g I I I and invention will be hereinafter pointed outor will become apparent to those skilled in the art;

While the invention will be described in con-' nection with a doublerow, ballbearing, it is to be understood that in; its broader aspectsthein- 'vention-is of utility in connection with bearings variousfeatures of novelty respectively. The ball groovesofth'e inner and outerrings are preferably arranged for angular contact engagement with theballs. as will be understood. Each row of balls'is provided withafseparate retainer, the-retainer 9 for the row of balls 1-'l,and-corresponding retainer! for These retainers may be the row of balls8-'8. and preferably are duplicates of each other and are preferablyofcast bronze. The retainers, as is common, have ball pockets I |--l lfor the balls, which embrace about" half the diameter oi the balls; anddeformable fingers l2-I3 and 14-45 project beyond the ball pockets andareof such size that they may be 'd'eformedintoball em bracing positionrelatively to" the balls held in the pockets; Such bronze retainers areoften cast and are finished in satisfactory fashion merely by being diestruck with slightly oversize. balls, The retainers, as appearsparticularly in Fig' 2, are of such ring-section or-"radial extent as tosubstantially fill the'radial space between the inner and outer rings,and the fingers I l-l5 project inwardly or toward each other into forillustrative the general zone between the two rows of balls. Theretainers, after the fingers have been deformed into ball embracingpositions, are designed to ride the balls and are preferably free ofcontact with either the inner or the outer ring. The retainer section isquite substantial at the outer sides of the double row ball bearingswhere the ball load is heaviest. With double row ball bearings, whereinthe balls have quite substantial angular contact with the inner andouter rings, the retainers ride the balls in the general zone of theirpolar axes where the rotation is, of course," the least, andconsequently retainer wear is reduced to a minimum.

My invention relates particularly to an improved apparatus for deformingthe bendable fingers which face toward each other in the generallycentral zone of the bearing and are consequently quite inaccessible fordeformation. I have provided means which project into the bearing,preferably from opposite sides, for wedging or otherwise deforming thebendable fingers into ball embracing positions. Such deforming means inthe preferred form pass through holes extending through at least one ofthe retainers between each pair of deformable fingers, such as thefingers I l-l5, and means may extend through the other retainer insimilar manner or, when one of the retainers is assembled'with its rowof balls and the fingers deformed by conventional methods a single anvilor wedging means may extend through a retainer, for example, the upperretainer, to assist in deforming the fingers of the lower retainer.However, in the preferred form the retainers have holes for thedeforming means so that all of the corresponding-fingers of one retainermay be deformed at one operation.

In the form of apparatus shown I provide a rotatable or indexible basemember l6, which may be rotated or indexed by a handle l1, and which maybe held in indexed position as by means of a spring pressed index pin18, engageable in an index hole or slot l9 or a second index hole orslot 20. The base member It carries anvil or wedging means, which meansmay be in the form of pins 2|,projecting from a supporting plate 22carried by the base member H5. The plate 22 may support the lowerretainer Ill and is preferably of a size to freely fit between the innerand outer rings. The retainer it) is preferably provided with holes 23,which extend axially through the retainer and between the bendableprongs or fingers [4-45. These anvils, supports, tools or wedging pins21 are preferably tapered or wedge-shaped at the top, as indicated at21', and preferably extend about as far inwardly as do the bendablefingers I 4-5. The base member 18, together with pin members 2|.corresponds in general to a die on a press platen. What corresponds to apunch member may be provided for cooperating with the die portion forbending the fingers I l-l5. In the form illustrated I employ a punchhead 24, which may be guided in any suitable manner and which may beactuated, as by means of a treadle or the like. The head 25 preferablycarries a plurality of wedging means or tools in the form-of pins 25,having the same circumferential spacing as the corresponding lower pins2!. In a double row bearing with duplicate retainers, the upper retainer9 is provided with holes or bores 26 for the passage of the wedging pins25. The retainer holes 23 and 26 are advantageously of a size to more orless snugly receive the corresponding wedging pins so as to give lateralsupport thereto and avoid undue bending stresses thereon during thedistortion of the bendable fingers. The lower ends of the pins 25 arepreferably wedged or tapered as indicated at 27, for coaction with theends of the pins 2| and with the bendable fingers.

In following the method with my improved apparatus a bearing withretainers 9i i] assembled with the balls is put on the base member ISwith the pins 2| projecting through the holes 23 in the lower retainer.The index pin !8 may be positioned in the index hole or slot l9 and whenthe base member is so held in indexed position the desired predeterminedrelative angular positions of the pins 2 l-25 will be substantially asshown in Fig. 4. It will, of course, be understood that ordinarily theaxial holes in the two retainers will not line up so as to receive theoppositely disposed wedging pins, and therefore the base member I6 isfirst rotated so as to permit entry of the upper pins 25 in the holes 26in the upper retainer. Thereafter, the'base member is rotated until theindex pin [3 may be inserted in, say, the index hole I9. During thisrelative rotation of the two retainers, one or both rows of balls willbe skidded relatively to one or both of the rings. When the pins 2 l-25are properly positioned, for example, as shown in Fig. 4, the punch head24 is lowered and the pins 25 will wedge between the anvil pins 2|(supported laterally in the bores 23) and the fingers M, and will deformall of the fingers corresponding to the finger l4 and will curl the sameabout the balls into ball embracing positions. At the end of the fingerdeforming operation theparts will be substantially as shown in Figs. 5and 6. In other words the retainers will have rotated relatively to eachother a slight amount. It is for that reason that the index slots ll-2llare elongated to permit, this slight relative rotation between theretainers during the deforming operation. Generally speaking the fingerswill be deformed into actual forcible contacts with the balls and whenthe deforming pressure is released the slight resiliency of the deformedfingers will cause them to spring back very slightly so as to just clearthe ball surfaces and thus provide a snug but perfectly free runningfit. When all of the fingers corresponding to the finger id have beendeformed as described, the punch head 2A is raised so as to cause thewedging pin 25 to clear the pins 21 and the remaining fingers. The basemember I6 is then indexed so as to cause the upper pins 25 to align withthe opposite sides of the pins 21 (Figs. '7, 8), and when the punch headis operated the fingers l5 will be deformed as heretofore described.While the angular movement to reposition the pins from more Or less theposition-of Fig. 1 to that of, say, Fig. 8 is slight, it will be usuallymore convenient, sofar as index ing is concerned, to shift the basemember IS an angular distance of one whole ball assembly and cause theindex pin 18 to engage an index slot 20. Thus, two widely separatedslots will be employed and there is little likelihood that an operatorwill fail to deform both of the opposed fingers, whereas if a singleindexing slot were employed and the base member I6 were shifted only avery small amount, there is some likelihood that the operator, throughcarelessness or forgetfulness, would deform only one set of fin- ;ers.

When one retainer, such as the retainer Iii, has had all of the fingersdeformed into ball embracing positions, the head 24 may be raised, the

bearing removed and inverted so as to engage the lower pins 2l'with theholes in the retainer 9,

and the same procedure followedcfor deforming the fingers correspondingto the fingers 12-43 of the retainer 9.

A preferred form of procedure has been described. Of course manymodifications and variations may be made; for example, one row of ballscould be loaded and the retainer placed in position and the fingersdeformed by conven-,

tional wedging means before the other retainer is assembled Or evenbefore the balls and the other row are put in place, so that my improvedmethod would'be employed only for deforming the fingers of the lastretainer put in place. Again, it would be possible to deform the fingersone at a time rather than as described. Furthermore, inthe broaderaspects of the invention, a split resilient wedging pin, or a wedgingpin having hinged wings, might be employed for simultaneously deformingboth of the adjacent fingers l4'--I5.' Many other modifications andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My improved method is rapid andfeffective. The resulting structure is asuperior one in that the retainers practically fill'the spaces betweenthe inner and outer rings and the solid retainer section is attheoutside, where the ball load is heaviest. The retainers'are notsubstantially weakened by the relatively small holes required forpassage of the wedging pins. The retainers ridethe balls in the generalzones of their polar axes'where the rotation is the least. By having thesolid retainer plates at the outsides of the bearing and only thedeformable fingers at the insides, the ball rows may be quite closelyspaced,

and, furthermore, a very substantial lubricant space is provided on theinterior of the bearing where it is most advantageous.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail and apreferred method andpreferred apparatus disclosed, it is to-beunderstood that various changes and modifications may be made within thescope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for fingers on a ball retainer in a ball bearing, meansfor supporting the retainer, an anvil pin held in position by saidsupporting means and extending through said retainer adjacent a bendablefinger, means for supporting a wedging pin for endwise movementrelatively to and in substantial alignment with said anvil pin, andmeans for indexdeforming I bendable I projecting upwardly therefrom, asecond sup-- porting member carrying a plurality of anvil pins ingeneral alignment with the first anvil v pins, means for moving saidsupportingmembers toward each other to cause engagement between theanvil pins thereon, said anvil pins having coacting wedging surfaces tocause relative transverse movement thereof when brought together, meansfor locking one of said supporting members to cause said pins to be ingeneral alignment, said locking means including means to permittransverse movement of one supporting member with its anvil pins.

3. In a machine for deforming bendable fingers on a ball retainer in aball bearing, means for supporting a retainer and a plurality of anvilpinsprojecting axially of the retainer in proximity to the bendablefingers, means for supporting a second plurality of anvil pins ingeneral alignment with said first mentioned plurality of anvil pins,means for moving said anvil pin supporting means toward each other in adirection axially of the retainer to cause engagement of said anvil pinswhich are in general alignment with each other, said anvil pins havingcoacting wedging surfaces so that when said anvil pins coact with eachother in their endwise movement said pins will create a sidepins,

will create a sidewise thrust for wise thrust/for bending the bendablefingers.

4. In a machine for deforming a bendable fingeron a ball retainer in aball bearing, means for supporting a retainer and an anvil pin pro- 1jecting axially of the retainer with the end of the pin in proximity tothe bendable finger, means for supporting a second anvil pin in gen-.

eralalignment with said first mentioned pin,

means for moving said anvil pins toward each other in a directionaxially of the retainer to cause generally endwise engagement of saidanvil said anvil pins having coacting wedging surfaces so that when saidanvil pins coact with each other in their endwise movement said pinsbending the bendable fingers.

HOWELL L. POTTER.

